WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! The Milwaukee Brewers took home their first World Series title in franchise history last night, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in just five games. ⚾🏆 Congratulations to all our Brewers fans!

• 🌾🧑‍🌾 In today’s newsletter, Maydeen spoke with the Missouri Farm Bureau on how farmers are dealing with high fuel costs and whether recent administration actions are translating to lower prices.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.

FUEL COSTS KEEP SQUEEZING FARMERS DESPITE ADMINISTRATION PUSH TO CURB PRICES:

Farmers continue to feel the squeeze of high fuel costs, which are driving up operating expenses despite the Trump administration’s efforts to bring down prices.

Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins told Maydeen that it is costing nearly twice as much to harvest this season.

“Everything is tied back to energy,” Hawkins said. “The reality is the cost of doing business is greater right now, and that happens when fuel costs go up.”

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For example, Hawkins said his bill for feed delivery to his farm increased last month due to a higher fuel surcharge.

As part of the Trump administration’s efforts to alleviate fuel costs, the president earlier this month signed an order to allow for greater access to tax-exempt red dyed diesel. The fuel is typically reserved for off-road uses like farm equipment.

Thirty-one states so far have temporarily allowed for greater access to dyed diesel. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins today urged the remaining states to take similar action and relax restrictions on dyed diesel.

Politico also reported that Rollins is asking states that have already loosened restrictions on dyed diesel to extend their waivers until at least Dec. 31.

Hawkins noted that not every farmer will take advantage of using red dyed diesel for on-road uses because traces of dyed fuel may remain in a truck for some time.

“There is uncertainty as to how long remnants of the dyed diesel stay in the fuel tanks,” he said. “People have been asking for clarity around how long will regulatory deference be given, knowing that if you do use it on road, that is going to take a few more tanks to clear that dyed diesel out of the fuel system.”

The Trump administration has also announced an $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief Program in an effort to help offset rising fuel prices and other input costs.

USDA is set to release more details on how it plans to distribute the funding. Hawkins noted it will only apply to the row crop sector – for instance, those hauling livestock will not qualify. USDA has noted that other eligible commodities will be announced at a later date.

“Certainly, it is a positive move that they recognize that there is a challenge. It continues to be a challenge when we talk about just the farm economy, because clearly we have seen other forms of assistance,” Hawkins said.

“We're in year three, year four of some farms being in the red on their balance sheet, so certainly this will help. It isn't going to solve the problem though, and everyone knows that,” he added.

All the rest:

BAAJA’S EFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMY: Over the last few weeks, we have written a lot about what provisions are in the Senate’s bipartisan permitting package and how activists within the environmental and climate movements view the bill. But what would the legislation look like in practice?

Resources for the Future, a nonpartisan environmental think tank, released modeling this morning on the effects of the bill – as written – on emissions and electricity prices.

The analysis forecasts that the legislation would support a “robust expansion” of the U.S. electric grid, including the construction of long-distance transmission lines. Specifically, RFF estimates that overall transmission capacity in the U.S. would increase by 30%.

And due to this increased transmission, RFF estimates that the policy would lead to significant deployment of clean energy resources: roughly 60 gigawatts more in 2028. The group acknowledged that the bill would result in more natural gas generation in the short-term, but less long-term, relative to current trends.

Similarly, compared to current trends and conditions, RFF estimated that BAAJA would result in a decline of roughly 1.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

It’s also worth noting that the RFF analysis does not cover every aspect of the bill. It does not consider changes regarding environmental reviews, judicial reviews, public input, environmental statutes on pipelines, and more.

Read the full report here.

Zeroing in on solar: The Solar Energy Industries Association also produced an analysis, first obtained by Punchbowl, estimating that the bill would lower power-sector emissions by about 20% between 2028 and 2035. The solar industry group also estimated it would increase solar and wind energy’s share of total U.S. generation from 19.6% to 37.4% in 2035.

What about the economics of it all? The White House Council of Economic Advisers released its own analysis on how the bill could boost the U.S. economy yesterday.

It’s important to note that this analysis only considered changes to environmental impact statements under the National Environmental Policy Act, and does not consider other key environmental laws that would be overhauled by BAAJA.

With that said, the CEA estimated that the legislation would increase long-run GDP by between 0.28% and 0.56% and would increase tax revenue by up to $28 billion each year. The CEA also estimated that the NEPA provisions as written would reduce electric bills by between $178 and $251 annually for the average household.

You can read the full analysis here.

Plus – what’s the timeline? Daily on Energy is hearing that senators have through the end of the week to submit amendments for the permitting legislation. Rather than each individual proposal receiving a vote, these amendments are expected to be combined into one manager’s amendment to streamline the voting process.

A procedural vote on the legislation is then expected on the afternoon of Nov. 9. Things should move fairly quickly from there, with a final vote expected the following week. After this, the bill would be sent to the House.

It will be increasingly difficult to pass the permitting legislation in the House after the midterm elections, particularly if Democrats retake the majority. So we could be looking at the bill being attached to a must-pass piece of legislation, such as the December spending bill.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ENCOURAGING FIRMS TO ACCEPT RUSSIAN DIESEL: Trump officials are privately asking U.S. firms to purchase Russian diesel, despite warnings that it could result in legal consequences.

The Washington Sun today reported that industry groups familiar with the conversations said that firms don't want to risk buying Russian diesel, noting recent warnings from Democrats.

Democratic lawmakers and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina earlier this week sent letters to major banks and U.S. port authorities, warning that any importation of Russian diesel into the U.S. raises significant legal questions and potential legal action. Lawmakers also signaled that purchasers of Russian imports could prompt Congressional investigations.

There are currently three Russian tankers heading to the U.S., which are scheduled to arrive at U.S. ports after the midterm elections. One of those tankers was initially set to dock in New York, but its owner, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, told the Financial Times it is waiting for further instructions.

Meanwhile, Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherill told the Financial Times that she is weighing measures to block the tankers from offloading their cargoes in the state.

“Donald Trump isn’t doing anything to bring down [petrol] prices, diesel prices or costs,” she said. “Trump’s diesel deal with Putin is corrupt and illegal, and I am evaluating options to stop it from arriving at a port in New Jersey.”

PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT MAY REOPEN NEXT MONTH: Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited the Palisades Nuclear Plant in western Michigan earlier today, promising that the facility will be up and running by the end of the year.

If successful, Palisades will become the first decommissioned nuclear power plant in the U.S. to come back online – more than a year later than owner and operator Holtec International first sought to reopen the plant.

“This plant will be started this year,” Wright told reporters after touring the plant, according to MLive.com. “We hope by the end of next month. We hope by the end of November, but it is very close.”

EMERGENCY AT SOUTH CAROLINA NUCLEAR SITE: Yesterday evening, a fire at a federal nuclear complex in South Carolina triggered an emergency response. Luckily, officials have said there was no indication of contamination outside the facility.

The fire was reported at the Savannah River Site just after 5 p.m. The facility in Aiken was built in the 1950s to produce plutonium and tritium for nuclear weapons.

Officials told local outlets that during the incident there was an “unfiltered ground-level radiological release."

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction in the area in response.

As of 9:45 p.m. ET last night, the fire was extinguished, protective actions at the site were lifted, and barricades reopened. Officials said that “radiological surveys indicated no detectable levels of contamination.”

It was not immediately clear what started the fire.

CHINESE CLEAN ENERGY EXPORTS HELPING TO CUT EMISSIONS: China’s exports of clean energy technology and equipment are helping to lower global greenhouse gas emissions, The Associated Press reports.

An analysis by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air found that, once installed or deployed, China’s 2026 exports will help to lower carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 450 million metric tons per year.

China is the world’s largest supplier of renewable energy equipment.

In the first nine months of 2026, exports increased 61% for electric vehicles, 45% for wind turbines, 39% for batteries, and 22% for solar equipment.

ICYMI – LOS ANGELES BANS NEW OIL WELLS: The Los Angeles City Council yesterday approved a ban on new oil and gas drilling and a phase-out of existing wells.

The ordinance will apply to over 600 active and 1,200 idle wells. It will bar new drilling and require operations to stop within 20 years, exempting wells run by a regulated utility, Bloomberg reports.

Councilmembers argued that oil and gas production near homes and schools is harmful to public health. It is important to note that the ordinance covers a small amount of oil production and the city hasn’t approved a new well since 2014.

Bloomberg noted that Los Angeles produced about 4,400 barrels of oil per day in 2024, which is about 1.8% of the state’s production.

However, it comes at a time when California is facing some of the highest oil and fuel prices in the country. The state has also been taking strict regulatory measures that have pushed out oil production to other states.

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